Tanya Perdomo, wife of missing firefighter Jerry Perdomo talks to the media as a yellow ribbon hangs from their mailbox at their family home. Dave Williams, firefighter union representative stands by her side.

Tanya Perdomo, wife of missing firefighter Jerry Perdomo talks to the media as a yellow ribbon hangs from their mailbox at their family home. Dave Williams, firefighter union representative stands by her side. (RED HUBER/ORLANDO SENTINEL)

The man previously described as a person of interest in the disappearance of Seminole County firefighter Jerry Perdomo Jr. has been charged with his murder.

Daniel Porter, 24, was arrested late Tuesday afternoon on a charge of murder, Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland said.

"It's a drug-related death," McCausland said. "The body has not been found."

Porter was taken away in handcuffs about 5 p.m. Tuesday, Seminole County firefighter Troy Todak said. Police have not disclosed what they think happened between Perdomo and Porter.

Perdomo's brother-in-law Chris Lerch said the family is devastated.

"All we know now is we just need to bring Jerry home and heal as a family," Lerch said from Maine, where he has been among those blanketing Bangor with fliers seeking clues in Perdomo's disappearance.

Police Tuesday returned to the house in Jackson, Maine, where they spent two days over the weekend searching for clues.

Todak, one of two Seminole County firefighters who flew to Maine to assist in the search for Perdomo, said there were five to six patrol cars outside the house when he arrived there Tuesday afternoon.

Porter and his girlfriend, Cheyanne Nowak, were staying in the home in Jackson, which is owned by Porter's father, and are the last known people to have seen Perdomo.

A state crime lab in Augusta is inspecting three cars and evidence seized during a two-day search of the home. Two cars were driven by Porter. The other was Perdomo's rental car, which he drove from Florida. It was found abandoned in a Walmart shopping center in Bangor.

Police searched a pond behind the house and a dumpster near the Walmart but have not said what they found.

Porter's arrest came the day after Perdomo's wife told reporters she was still hopeful for her husband's safe return.

"I still foresee him coming home, so I'm hopeful," Tonya Perdomo said Monday. "I'm speaking to you to let you know we're still looking for him and ... we're desperate to get him home."

Jerry Perdomo, a 31-year-old former Marine who lives in Orange City, purportedly went to Maine to visit a friend and was last heard from Feb. 16.

Rumors have swirled since Perdomo's disappearance, including allegations that he was having a long-distance affair and that he was trafficking prescription drugs. His wife Monday denied both rumors .

Tonya Perdomo, an English teacher at Deltona High School, said the last time she spoke to her husband was the evening of Feb. 16, when he called "to tell me that he was fine."

"We spoke for a minute because the reception was really bad," Tonya Perdomo said. "He told me that he loved me and to hug and kiss the kids and he told me he would call me later. And I never heard from him again."